NuBeginnings2012

Great video! The YouTube wls community is huge. What is your channel name so I can subscribe to you?

Kelly - welcome! I'm a NW girl myself. I grew up down the road from you in Kitsap county. I currently live in Idaho but all of my family are still in Washington. I'm so happy for you that you are going to be able to get the LB. I'm still in the 6 month pre- op phase myself but am losing nicely. It is a learning curve and I didn't Like the wait either but like you I understand it. It will be exciting to watch your journey! This is a good place to come for encouragement and mental preparation.

Congratulations! I'm very pleased for you! Thank you for sharing your wonderful success with all of us, it is so motivating! Can't wait to see what you do next!

Hey you banded Idahoans . . . where are you? How are you doing? Where are you at in this journey? Pre-op? Post-Op? Maintenance? Successful? Struggling? Come and join us!

Nice to meet you. Your profile picture is awesome! That says volumes. You have done amazing! Thank you for sharing your success with the LB. I'm glad to know it has been such a useful tool in your journey and to help you avoid regain. I completely understand the 5000 calorie, I already blew it anyway, binge! Unfortunately, a few too many of those have gotten me right back to where I am now. I'm so happy to know that the LB can be used as a tool to keep me in check during moments of weakness. I seem to do wonderful during the losing phase but the maintenance phase is where I will need the most help. Looks like you are almost there . . .wow! Thank you so much for sharing.

Ok so I've been lurking around this site for a while, finally got brave enough to contribute to a few posts and have discovered this is probably a safe enough place . . .spoken like a typical insecure obese person right?! My story in a nutshell . . . lost 160 pounds with a trainer, diet and exercise, waited the year of maintenance and for my skin to adjust to the new weight . . . went to a fabulous plastic surgeon in Brazil and had plastic surgery. . .even I can admit I looked amazing . . . I kept that off for three years then gained back about 140 pounds slowly over several years. My plastic surgeon would be so disappointed! So here I am . . . fat again . . . an expert at losing weight and a failure at keeping it off. I'm in the 6 month pre-op phase required by my insurance company. I'm using my expertise at losing to get the weight off again . . . I'm not going to wait for the lap band . . . but am getting the lap band so I don't have to experience failure with extreme re-gain again. I'm already 20 pounds down since January 4th and am feeling better . . . I'm sure my liver thanks me . . . so that's the long and short of it so to speak. I just want to thank all of you here and on youtube who have been so forthcoming with your journey. It is so humbling to have failed with this issue over and over and over . . . It is really helpful for me to know I'm not alone in this journey and that with surgery there is hope. I really feel like this time with the help of the lap band . . . some emotional maturity . . . and the support of the weight loss community, I will finally have permanent . . .although hard fought . . . long term success. This is my year of new beginnings!

I have Aetna insurance. I have to wait six months before my procedure will be approved. It is the initial BMI that my surgeon recorded that qualifies me for surgery. I am to lose at least 10% of my weight before my surgery date in May. I guess every insurance is different but that is how most of them work. The one think in common most banders have is the inablility to keep weight off so losing before hand only reduces your surgical risk. At least that was how it was explained to me. My advice would be to confirm with your insurance company and get it in writing (ask for access to the policy - it's usually available online) and confirm with your surgeon or their coordinator. Hope that helps!

Congratulations on such a wonderful milestone! I'm sure you're beautiful loose skin and all. Here's the difference . . . when you were over weight you covered up but people could still see the obesity. When you are thin and a little loose you can cover up and no one is the wiser. There is a period of tightening in your skin for a year after maintenance so keep active and don't dispair. If you are still unhappy you have options. I am thrilled for your graduation from the plus sizes!!! My story . . . Lost 160 pounds with a trainer, diet and exercise, waited the year and had the surgery. I kept that off for three years then gained it back slowly over several years. So here I am, an expert at losing weight and a failure at keeping it off. I'm in the 6 month pre-op phase. I'm using my expertise at losing to get it off again (not going to wait for the lap band) but am getting the lap band so I don't have to experience failure with re-gain again. This is hard work so enjoy every moment. I also suggest you get rid of any clothes that are too big, donate or give to friends. This keeps you in check. Seriously!!!!! Congratulations this is a big moment for you!!!!!

First let me say congratulations on your success this far! I agree that WLS is not an easy decision or even an easy way to get the weight off. I have tried everything short of this option. I decided to pursue lap band after a lot of research and am in the pre-op stage. My deciding factor was this: when your BMI hits 40 or greater research shows that less than 1% that is (1 in 100) people can keep the weight off. I think all of us have some clue about losing weight, what we really have in common is the inability to keep it off. If weight loss was easy there would be no obesity. The advantage of the lap band is that it is a tool that not only helps with weight loss and satiety it also helps with maintenance. In other words, used correctly the lap band increases your odds of keeping the weight off. It is much easier to go to the effort to lose weight and live a healthy lifestyle knowing that I have a tool to help me avoid or minimize regain. Keep an open mind about your friend odds are they are not in the 1% and may need your help in the end. Chin up!

This group is a great idea! I know we have a lot of banded people in Idaho. It would be nice if we could all communicate through this site and eventually plan some get togethers or events to support one another. This is a great place where soon to be banded persons (like me) could be mentored by experienced banders and experienced banders can inspire one another. The Women's Fitness Celebration in September or the Great Potato would be great activities to bring us together. Now that I know this group has been created I'll pass on the information to other people who will be interested.

Phany - call your insurance and ask them the requirements for coverage. They should provide you with their policy requirements. Most insurances require a BMI of 40 with our without comorbid conditions (diabetes, High blood pressure, heart disease etc) or a BMI of 35 with at least two comorbid conditions. Each insurance varies however. Step one: call your insurance. Step 2: go to a lap band seminar. Step 3: follow the guidance given to you at your seminar. Each surgical weight loss program has their own way to fill requirements. Hope that helps!

My insurance requires 6 months of medically supervised weight loss before they will approve/cover the cost of surgery. This avoids the need for a rapid weightloss liquid diet for me. My surgeon's explanation keeps me motivated. A fatty liver is a friable (bleeds easily) and a large liver. If he can't get around the liver to see the stomach or see into the abdomen because of bleeding from the liver he has to stop the surgery. The liver is the first organ to gain fat and the first to lose it when you drop the pounds. That keeps me motivated to get the 10% of my current weight off. Maybe that will help some of you struggling with strict pre-op diets. Best of luck to all of you! You can do this!

Just curious . . . Does this happen to everyone? My understanding is that it depends on how the surgeon removes the gas. Has anyone not struggled with gas pain post LB placement?

I need to schedule my psych eval and dietitian consult. Who did you use and were you pleased with the interaction? Did you have to have a sleep apnea test overnight or did your primary care provider just do an overnight pulse oximetry and sleep apnea screen? My surgeron is Dr. Anderson and his weight loss coordinator Jamee Brinkerhoff has been an amazing support. She is such an inspiration being a bandster herself. She looks gorgeous! I'm going to let her know about this group so Jamee can get the word out to other Idaho bandsters. This is a great site!